If you live in South Austin, you may have heard about the affordable housing development being proposed at 6200 Menchaca Road.

The City-owned property is being considered for a major zoning change and an amendment to our existing Neighborhood Plan. The City is seeking zoning that would allow as many as 275 affordable units in buildings four to five stories tall. That’s a dramatic increase in density for a property directly beside established residential neighborhoods.

We support affordable housing. Austin needs more housing that working families can afford. But putting 275 homes in buildings up to five stories tall on this site is completely out of scale with the surrounding neighborhoods.

Neighbors have serious concerns about traffic, drainage, parking, and infrastructure, as well as the impact on the homes closest to the property. We also believe the Neighborhood Plan residents helped create should matter when the City considers a change this significant.

We’re asking the City to reconsider the scale of the 6200 Menchaca proposal and work with the surrounding community on a smaller development that still provides meaningful affordable housing.

If you support affordable housing but believe 275 homes at 6200 Menchaca is too much for this location, please sign and help us ask the City of Austin for a better-balanced plan.